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H. D. PRATT.

MACHINE FOR CLEANING RAILROAD BALLAST.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 2% I919. Ra ued Sept. 13, 1921. 15,195..

3 5HEETS--SHEEE 1H. 0. PRATT. MACHINE FOR CLEANING RAILROAD BALLAST.APPLICATION mm pm. 21. 1919/ ,Reissued Sept. 13, 1921. 1 5 ,1 95.

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flelssued Sept 13, 1921 H l U H i l i I i i P 1 T i I l. 11 1 Wiinass WW g ties and 3 are the rails 3f the tracks.

HOW ELL D. PRATT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA,

COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

CHINE FOB CLEANING RAQILROAD-IBALLAST.

Original No. 1,272,849, dated July 16, 1918, Serial No. 201,769, filedSpecification of Reissued Letters Patent.-

Rei'ssned Sept. 13, 1921.

reissue filed October 27, 1919. Serial No. 333,841.

To all 'w/wm it may; concern.-

Be it known that I, Hownu. D. PRATT, acitizen of the Unite States,residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certainImprovements in Machines for Cleaning Railroad-Ballast, of which the following 1s a specification.

One object of my invention is to construct a machine for mechanicallycleaning or screening railway ballast.

A'further ob 'ect of theinventiomis to provide a machine which can belocated between the two tracks of a railroad so as to remove and screenthe ballast at the point between the two tracks into the space frombetween the ties.

A still further object of the invention is to desi the machine sothatthe material screen from the ballast can be reatlil removed anddeposited outside of the limits of the track or into cars. (3 1) In theaccompanying drawings";

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through the roadbed showing myimproved ballast cleanin machine in operation ig.2isapanview;and

ig. 3 is a transverse sectional ,view through the roadbed, showing thefront end of the machine.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the 'ordi: nary stone ballast of a.railway. 2-are the These tracks are spaced a given distance a art,leaving a clear space between the end of the ties, as shown, and thisspaceis usually filled with stone ballast, as well as the space betweenthe several ties of each track.

After the ballast has been placed in the spaces between the ties, itbecomes filled with dirt and cinders to such an extent that the stonesdo not bind properly, one against the other, and in order to remove thisdirt and cinder it has been the common practice to use manually operatedforks for lifting. the ballast and for sifting the dirt and cinders fromthe stone. By the use of my invention. the sifting by manual labor isentirely eliminated.

In the present instance, 4 are angle bars which form the rails on whichmy improved apparatus is supported. These rails can be permanentlyattached to the ties or they and also that raked can be made removable,as desired, and while I have shown angle bars the rails may be made ofwood, or other suitable materia 5 are flat wheels in the presentinstance, which are mounted on the lower frame 7 of my frame 8connected. to the lower frame by uprights 9 at the rear end and bydiagonal members 10 at the forward end in the present instance. Theconstruction may vary with the type of machine. Mounted on the forwardend of the frame are brackets 11,

assreaoa 'ro LINK-BELT November 13, 1917. Application for axles 6,supporting" improved machine. Supported on this lower frame is anuppercarrying a shaft 12 on' which are the bearings 13 for the diagonalbeams 14, which carry the bucket elevator. A cross angle- .beam 14, inthe present instance, is secured to the beams 14, and rests on the endsof the frame 7 and limits the downward movement of the elevator.

Mounted on the shaft 12 is a sprocket wheel 1.5 around which passes achain 16. This chain passesaround a sprocket wheel 17 mounted on a shaft18 carried by bearings 19 on the lower ends of the beams 14. Secured tothe chain at intervals are buckets 20 for receiving the ballast, and atthe outer edge of the buckets are fingers 21, which readily pass underthe ballast so as to loosen the stones, thus allowing them to passfreely into the buckets. The buckets discharge the stone, cinders, andother dirt, onto a screen 22, arranged at an incline directly back ofthe bucket elevator, and this screen can be agitated in any suitablemanstones of the ballast. The stonesfare discharged from the rear of thescreen into the trench formed by the machine, and the cinders, and otherdirt, in the present instance, fall into a box 23, or tacle, under themachine. stance, the box is supported by stirrups 24, pivoted to theframe so that when the box 15 filled the operator can detach the box bymoving the stirrups. from under the box. Access maybe had to the. boxfrom the front end of the machine by raising the elevator sufficientlyand it may position by any suitable means.

The screen. in the present instance, con-' other suitable recep- In thepresent in-- nor so as to separate the-cinders from the x sists of afixed frame 25. in which the screen.

itself is movablyumounted, and attached to this screen are anglebarsflli in which are threaded studs 27 to limit the upward move- 32.These springs are. carried bybrackets 29 hung from the side members ofthe frame 25 of the screen, and on the screen are rollers 30, two ateach side, in the present instance, which are locatedinthe path of saidcam Wheel 31. These shafts are driven in unison by a drive chain 33,whichpasses around sprocket wheels on the said shafts, and one oftheseshafts is driven through a chain 34 from a transverse shaft 35 having agear 36, which meshes with a pinion 37 on the shaft 38 of an electricmotor 39, although it will be understood that anysuitable motor may .beused to drive the mechanism.

.ment for driving the mechanism the'mechanlsm may-be driven in anysuitable mannerand by any suitable motor without departing from theessential features of the invention. The operation of the machine is asfollows:

If it" be desired'to clean the ballast of a V double track road, therails 4 for the machine are located in position on the ties, as shown.Then, a certain portion of the ballast is excavated and the machine islocated in the excavated portion. The machine can be moved forward byhand, or it may be driven by. power, if desired. The elevator is drivenfrom the motor 39, and thebuckets dig into the ballast in front of themachine and carry the detached particles of the ballast over the head ofthe elevator and discharge them onto the screen, and, as the screen isagitated, the material flows down on the screen and the fine dust andcinders onto are separated from the stone, falling the box or otherreceptacle, 23, Wl'llle the stones are discharged into the trench 'atthe rear of the machine.

. This machine not only cleans thegballast in the space between thetracks, but. also in the space between the ties of the two tracks, byanoperatorraking the ballast from the space between the ties to aposition in the path of the elevators. This is comparatively easy, asthere is noliftingyor sifting, of the ballivt by hand. readily placedbetween the ties, as, the ma-- chine s traveling forward.

By manufacturing the machine as above described it can be built to bewithin the clear space between the ears on the two tracks, so that themachine need not be re- "The elevator-is driven through a chain 40,which 5 The clean ballast can be' moved when trains are passing.- Thisis clearly illustrated in Fig. 3, which shows'the cars in dotted lines.

I claim:

p 1. The. combination in a machine for'i'm cleanin railroad ballast, ofrails independthe ballast, the frame and its mechanism ing ot such awidth and height as to be within the clear space between the carstraveling v I on the two tracks.

'2. The combination in p a machine for cleaning ballast, of two tracksarranged sid' by side; rails on the adjojnin ends of ties of each track;and a rame having wheels adapted to the rails and located the clearspace between the cars traveling on the two tracks, said frame carryingmeans for cleaning the ballast between the tracks.

3. The. combination in a machine for cleaning ballast, of tworails'located on'the I inner ends of the ties of a double track rail"road; a. frame having axles provided with wheels ada ted to thesaidrailfs; elevat' y means for iftin the ballast to be cleane a screenon whic the ballast is discharged means for agitating the screen;a'removablje' the ballast will be discharged at t e m end thereof,'theentire mechanism being leer cated on the frame in such ition that trainscan ass on either track without into fering witi the frame and themechanism carried thereby. y I y 4. The combination in a machine forclear; ing' ballast, of a frame ad i. the space between'the tracks of a'donb the forward end of the-frameythe being mounted for pivotal 'adj :wmeans for driving the elevator, a mounted on the frame directly backof-thm' elevator and arranged to receive the material as it is di ,argedfromthe elevator;

hung under thescreen; and stirrups piv to tla fume and arranged tosupport each end the box so that, on swinging the stirrups on thepivots, the'box can be dezfrom the machine, the entire mechnnism beinglocated on the frame in such p0 sition that trains can pass on eithertrack without interfering with the trame and the mechanism carriedthereby.

5. The combinutionin amachine for cleanballast, of a frame arranged totravel in the clear space between the tracks of a double track railway;means on said frame for removing the ballast from the roadbed, means forscreening the ballast and returning it to the roadbed, the entiremechanism being located on the frame in such position that trains canpass on either track without interfering with the frame and themechanism carried'thereby, and, means for guiding the mechanism along apath parallel with the track.

6. The combination in a machine for cleaning ballast, of a framearranged to travel in the clear space between the tracks of Y a doubletrack railway, n. .s on said frame for removing the ballast am theroadbedl, means for screening the ballast and returning it to theroadbed, the entire mechanism being located on the frame in suchposition that trains can pass on either track without interfer' with theframe and the'mechm nism carried thereby, and means fixed, on the tiesfor guidin the mechanism along a path parallel with t e track. 7. Thecombination in a machine for cleaning ballast, of a frame arranged totravel in the clean space between the tracks of a double track railway,means on said frame for reniovi the ballast from the roadbed, means forscreening the ballast and returnin it to the roadbed, the entiremechanism being located on the frame in such position that trains canpass on either track without interferi with the frame and the mechanismcarried thereby, and means comprising rails fixed on the ties forguiding the mechanism along a ath parallel with the track.

8. The com ination in a machine for cleaning ballast, of a framearranged. to travel in;

the clear space between the .tracks of a double track'railway, means onsaid frame for removing the ballast from the roadbed,

ent of the track rails for guiding the mecha nism along a path parallelwith the track.

9. The combination with a machine for can pass on either track withoutwith the frame and the mechanism carried thereby, and means 'independcleaning ballast arranged to travel in the clear space between thetracks of a double railway, of means independent of the track ties forthe trac the entire mechanism being so ar ranged and positioned thattrains can pass on either track without interfering therewith. I 10. Thecombination with a machine for cleaning ballast'a'rranged to travel inthe guiding it along a path parallel with clear space between the'tracksof a double track railway, of means carried b able with the-cleaningmachine fbr guidingtrack, the entire mechanism being so arranged andpo-fl it along a path parallel with the sitioned that trainsvcan pass oneither track without interfering therewith.

' 1 1. The combination with a machine for cleaning ballast arranged totravel in the clear space between the tracks of a double track railway,of means for guidin a path parallel with the track, t

and mov 1 I it along 4 'e entire mechanism being so arranged and'ositionedja that trains can pass on either trac without interferingtherewith.

HOWELL D. PRATT. j

